The Red Hood
Jason Todd, the Red Hood, is a Knight-Errant of the Order of the Bat and a former assassin for the League of Assassins. History The successor to Dick Grayson, Jason Todd briefly served the Dark Knight as the second Robin. Todd lived his early life as an orphan on the streets of Crime Alley in the East End of Gotham. His mother, Catherine, was a drug addict and died of a heroin overdose when he was young. His father, Willis, was a henchman working for Two-Face and he disappeared not long after Catherine's death. Todd made his own way on the streets of Gotham and he was damn good at it too, that is until the Dark Knight caught him attempting to steal the tires off of his vehicle in Crime Alley one fateful night. Appreciating his moxie and capabilities and also noticing a striking similarity to himself, the Dark Knight began watching over the orphan Todd and eventually took him in and trained him to be his apprentice as the next Robin. As the new Robin, he proved to be stronger than Grayson but less agile and prone to defying orders. After almost failing a mission due to his attitude, he and the Dark Knight got into an argument ultimately leading to Todd leaving. With nowhere to go, Todd decided to visit his childhood home in the East End. While reflecting on his time before his apprenticeship, he ran into an old neighbor who gave him a box of memories belonging to his parents. Sifting through all the pictures and letters, he found his birth certificate and written under "mother" was a barely legible name he was unfamiliar with. Determined to seek out his newly discovered biological mother, Todd left Gotham without the approval of the Dark Knight. After many unsuccessful leads, he finally found her in Ethiopia working as a Red Cross relief agent. However, it was all a trap. The Joker had been blackmailing his mother, Sheila Haywood, behind the scenes the whole time and when Todd finally got the mother-son reunion he had come to wish for, he was ambushed by the Joker and brutally beaten with a crowbar within an inch of his life. The Joker then restrained both Todd and his mother and escaped the warehouse he had lured them to as his time bombs detonated. The Dark Knight arrived moments too late and as he sifted through the debris of the destroyed warehouse, he found Jason Todd's broken, lifeless body. The Dark Knight retrieved the bodies and returned to Wayne Manor to give them a proper burial. With the guilt and despair felt over Todd's murder, this event would mark a gloomy turning point in the Dark Knight's career. Death was not Jason Todd's destiny however. Years later, his body was retrieved by Talia al Ghul of the League of Assassins. Talia had devised a grand scheme to get revenge on the Dark Knight for his betrayal to both her and the league; she would place Todd's corpse within one of her father's Lazarus Pits to be resurrected and then condition his recovering mind to hate the Dark Knight, giving Todd the motivation to hunt him down and kill him. After returning to his place among the living however, Todd just wasn't the same. He had been dead too long and was extremely unstable. Talia had almost given up on her creation and out of utter frustration she began reciting an ancient mantra to calm herself down, and as she looked up Todd had become calm as well and the savagery from his eyes slowly dissipated. With this breakthrough she began to rehabilitate his decayed mind and anytime he began to feel like he was losing control he would just recite the mantra and his mind would ease. Eventually it was time, and Todd made his way back to Gotham where he took up the mantle of the Red Hood, the name the media had dubbed his murderer before the accident turned him into the Joker. Being his adopted son, and former apprentice, the Red Hood knew every move in the Dark Knight's playbook and proceeded to systematically isolate him from all his resources for one last death match. The Red Hood felt extremely betrayed that the Dark Knight allowed the Joker to live after he killed him, his son, and with Talia's conditioning he thirsted for revenge. When they finally came face to face, an ultimate battle unfolded and it seemed as though the Red Hood's Lazarus rejuvenated body had given him had upper hand. Yet in the heat of the battle his rage got the better of him and he left an opening for the Dark Knight to subdue him. Tied up and defeated, the Dark Knight removed the disguised man's helmet only to fall to his knees when he seen the face behind the helmet was that of his deceased apprentice and adopted son. At that moment however, Talia appeared on the battlefield to destroy her failed creation and finish the job. She threw a blade aimed at the Red Hood's heart, but the Dark Knight jumped on the Red Hood taking the knife in the back for him. Suddenly the Red Hood's blood lust took over, this time however it was directed toward Talia. It looked as if another great battle would unfold but in the blink of an eye Talia disappeared. He was now left feeling empty and manipulated. Todd felt betrayed by the Dark Knight, yet the Dark Knight still risked his life for him. Talia, who had revived him and cared for him, had now tried to kill him. Anger and confusion weighed heavy on his mind. He wondered if he was even human, or some unholy tool at the mercy of the League of Assassins. He retrieved the Dark Knight's unconscious body and discreetly returned it to Wayne Manor for Alfred to find, then set off to discover the meaning of his humanity. Powers and Abilities Abilities * Acrobatics: '''Like all knights of the Order of the Bat, the Red Hood has been trained extensively in acrobatics. * '''Demolition: '''Like all knights of the Order of the Bat, the Red Hood has been trained extensively in demolition techniques. He also picked up a few tricks during his time as an assassin with the League. * '''Disguise: '''Like all knights of the Order of the Bat, the Red Hood has been trained extensively in the art of disguise. He also picked up a few tricks during his time as an assassin with the League. * '''Driving: '''Like all knights of the Order of the Bat, the Red Hood has been trained extensively in driving and operating every type of known vehicle. * '''Escapology: '''Like all knights of the Order of the Bat, the Red Hood has been trained extensively in techniques to escape nearly any situation. He even knows some techniques to escape rudimentary mind control. * '''Interrogation: '''Like all knights of the Order of the Bat, the Red Hood has been trained extensively in interrogation techniques. He also picked up a few tricks during his time as an assassin with the League. * '''Intimidation: '''Due to his rage giving him an unpredictable nature, the Red Hood's ability to strike fear into the hearts of his victims is second only to the Dark Knight's within the Order of the Bat. Also, like all knights within the Order, the Red Hood has been trained extensively in intimidation techniques. The Order also has a strict code requiring it's members to, among other things, never show their human side to the enemy in order to maintain its reputation. * '''Martial Arts: '''Like all knights of the Order of the Bat, the Red Hood has been trained extensively in all forms of martial arts. He is highly proficient in Aikido, Boxing, Capoeira, Karate, Kickboxing, Krav Maga, Ninjutsu, Savate, and Taekwondo. the Red Hood also received additional training from the League of Assassins during his time with them. * '''Peak Human Condition ** Agility ** Durability ** Speed: ''With speed comparable to the finest competing athletes, the Red Hood can reach speeds in excess of 25 miles per hour. ** ''Stamina ** Strength: ''The Red Hood engages in an intense exercise regimen and is capable of lifting at least twice his body weight. * '''Peak Human Intellect ** '''''Investigation ** Multilingualism: ''Aside from English, the Red Hood is fluent in American Sign Language, Arabic, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, and possibly other languages as well. ** ''Polymath ** Tactical Analysis * Stealth: '''Stealth is a knight of the Order of the Bat's second most useful tool after the utility belt. Being able to conceal oneself within the shadows is the difference between life and death. The Red Hood has been trained extensively in the art of stealth. He also picked up a few tricks during his time as an assassin with the League. * '''Tracking: '''Like all knights of the Order of the Bat, the Red Hood has been trained extensively in the art of tracking. He also picked up a few tricks during his time as an assassin with the League. * '''Weaponry ** Melee Weaponry ** Ranged Weaponry Weaknesses * '''Rage: '''The Red Hood's most notable weakness is his rage. The Dark Knight and numerous others have told him that his rage blinds him in battle to the point of leaving physical and mental weak points open for attacks. Recently, Todd has made steps to putting the past behind him and has become a more disciplined and controlled fighter but his efforts have been hampered due to the residual League of Assassins brainwashing sending him into a blood lust when angered enough. Paraphernalia Weapons * '''Dual Jericho 941 Pistols: '''These are the Red Hood's choice of weapon. Due to the Order of the Bats code of honor and because he is no longer an assassin, the Red Hood uses rubber bullets as ammunition for his weapons. * '''Batarangs: '''For ranged attacks and distractions, the Red Hood carries a slew of Batarangs in a holster on his utility belt along with attachments for them to make them electromagnetic, explosive, or remote-operated. Equipment * '''Utility Belt: '''Any knight of the Order of the Bat's most useful tool, the utility belt contains the right item for any situation. Known to be contained in the belt is the Batline launcher, caltrops, a cryptographic sequencer, an electromagnetic pulse gun, explosive gel, a first aid kit, lock picks, a re-breathing apparatus, sleep pellets, smoke pellets, sonic devastators, tracers, and a tranquilizing gun. Transportation As a knight of the Order of the Bat, the Red Hood has access to the Order's fleet of vehicles.